Vengeance's Bite
by Emjen Enla
Summary: **On Hiatus** Legends (Pre-Disney) Canon. Post The Dark Nest Trilogy, Pre Legacy of the Force Series. The galaxy seems to be at peace, but a malicious threat is stalking the Skywalker/Solo family; one who has been waiting decades for his revenge, and now has a secret weapon that may enable him to do it...
1. Dramatis Personae

**Title: Vengeance's Bite**

 **Author: Emjen Enla/emjen_enla (wattpad username)**

 **Rating: PG-13/T**

 **Canon: Legends**

 **Timeline: 38 A.B.Y (38 years after the battle of Yavin VI). Two years after the Swarm War. Two years before the Second Galactic Civil War.**

 **Dominant Characters: Jacen Solo, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, Luke Skywalker, Jaina Solo, Mara Jade Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, Surviving members of the Myrkr Strike Team (save Raynar Thul), various OCs**

 **Pairings: Jacen/Tenel Ka, Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Jag/Jaina/Zekk love triangle (if you ignore the fact that Jag can't appear in this story because of things that happen in LOTF)**

 **Warnings: spoilers for the Legends EU, especially** _ **The New Jedi Order**_ **and** _ **The Dark Nest Crisis**_ **, veiled spoilers for** _ **Legacy of the Force**_ **. Doesn't completely ignore** _ **Fate of the Jedi**_ **but doesn't pay close attention to it either.**

 **Notes:**

 **1\. The prologue of this story is currently posted on Wattpad, but nothing more, so you and the people on Wattpad will be getting updates simultaneously. I can't make any promises on how frequent the updates will be.**

 **2\. This story isn't as OC-heavy as** _ **Running Rampant**_ **, but it does contain several prominent OCs. If you don't like, don't read.**

 **3\. The information on Voids in this story is a combination of the limited information in the** _ **Jedi Quest**_ **series by Jude Watson and my own imagination with supplemental understanding of Jacen's Force-hiding abilities.**

 **4\. This story will probably end up pretty Jacen-centric.**

 **5\. Constructive criticism is appreciated, hater comments are not.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Stars Wars; if I did this timeline would still be Canon.**

* * *

 _ **Dramatis Personae**_

Allana (Solo); Chume'da (Heir to the Hapan throne) (human female)

Ben Skywalker; (human male)

Cal Omas; Galactic Alliance Chief of State (human male)

Cilghal; Jedi Master (Mon Calamari female)

Corran Horn; Jedi Master (human male)

Grichman Rog; (human male)

Han Solo; Captain, _Millennium Falcon_ (human male)

Jacen Solo; Jedi Knight (human male)

Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (human female)

Kyle Katarn; Jedi Master (human male)

Kyp Durron; Jedi Master (human male)

Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight/copilot, _Millennium Falcon_ (human female)

Lowbacca; Jedi Knight (Wookiee male)

Luke Skywalker; Jedi Grand Master (human male)

Mahcheen Gorran; hired muscle (Klatooninian male)

Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (human female)

Marr-Ann Signe; (nearhuman female)

Meewalh; Bodyguard, Leia Solo (Noghri male)

Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (Barabel female)

Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight (human female)

Tekli; Jedi Knight (Chadra-Fan female)

Tenel Ka Djo; Hapan Queen Mother (human female)

Tesar Sebatyne; Jedi Knight (Barabel male)

The World Brain; (Yuuzhan Vong Biotechnology)

Tyo Svea; (Pantoran male)

Vína Rozalei; assassin (Twi'lek female)

Zekk; Jedi Knight (human male)


	2. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

STARSHIP _VENGEANCE'S BITE_ DISPLAYING FALSE TRANSPONDER CODE _OLDEN DAYS_ , ENROUTE TO CORUSCANT

In Grichman Rog's mind there were two forms of revenge. There was the kind that was done quickly and sloppily, and was over almost before it started. It was hardly revenge at all; there was no lasting fulfillment from it. Then there was the kind that festered and grew for decades, the kind that was carefully planned to cause the most pain and suffering before the actual act was achieved.

Rog's revenge was a member of the latter variety.

Rog slouched in _Vengeance's Bite_ 's pilot seat, staring out into the swirls of hyperspace. He was going to do it. Finally, after thirty-four long years of waiting, he was going to get his revenge.

There had been a time when a large number of people had been at Rog's side, desiring the same revenge, but they had petered out over the years. They had wanted revenge, but they weren't willing to wait three plus decades for it. The Yuuzhan Vong War had wiped away the last of them. They'd made their peace with all that the "heroes" Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo had done to destroy the Empire. Some had even begun to think the fall of the Empire had been a good thing in the long run. After all, who would have stopped the Vong if Luke Skywalker hadn't restarted the Jedi Order, allowing his nephew the training he had needed to stop the invaders?

Rog didn't agree. He didn't believe the Empire had needed to fall. Never, ever would he believe that. So he'd studied and prepared to take his revenge alone, and waited.

It had been hard at times, but the death of Anakin-the youngest Solo spawn-had given him the self-control to wait until now, when he was certain he was ready.

When he had finally found his secret weapon.

Lithe steps sounded on the durasteel floor as one of his associates walked in. Rog was well-prepared but he knew that even he couldn't do it alone. That was why he'd hired some help. None of his help was old enough to remember the Empire, but that was okay. It didn't matter if those working with him got revenge. All that mattered was his revenge.

"Why is there a kid in the passenger compartment?" Vína Rozalei, some of said help, said bracing her delicate, pale purple hands on the backs of the pilot and copilot seats. One of her delicately tattooed lekku fell into Rog's face, he batted it away irritably and earned himself a glare.

Vína's tattoos and graceful manner were courtesy of her teenage years, when she'd been a pet to the daughter of some very rich, illegal merchant. After the merchant and his entire family had died, Vína had started training as an assassin. She was very successful, in part because she could take on the qualities of a dim but beautiful Twi'lek dancing girl at will and use people's perceptions of her as crafty ways to avoid being caught.

Rog's other associate-Klatooninian, Mahcheen Gorran-was neither graceful nor clever. He looked up at Vína from his place in the copilot's seat and gave her a frown made even more intimidating by his large, pointed teeth. "There's no kid in the back." He grunted.

"There is, you're just blind." Vína said, then turned to Rog. "Why's he here?"

"There's no kid!" Gorran growled. "If there was, I'd have seen him!"

Vína heaved a sigh and leaned across Gorran, bringing the security recordings for the passenger compartment. There, sitting at the Dejarik table, was a scrawny Pantoran boy of maybe fifteen.

Gorran blinked like he couldn't believe his eyes. "What is that runt doing here?" he shouted. "How did he sneak on board?"

Rog glanced at the screen and burned the image into his memory, just in case. "He didn't sneak on." Rog said. "I brought him on board right before we left Jaemus, you just weren't paying attention."

"But _why_ did you bring him?" Vína asked. "We're assassins not the Social Services."

"You're right." Rog said smiling. "And that kid is going to prove _very_ useful to us..."


	3. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

 _Jacen Solo's New Apartment, Rotunda Zone, Coruscant_

Rotunda Zone wasn't an overly ritzy part of Coruscant—it was nothing like the place the Solos had lived before the Yuuzhan Vong War—but it was nice, very nice. The apartment Jacen Solo had bought was definitely nicer than the last apartment he'd lived in during the months directly after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, just before he'd left on his five year journey around the galaxy.

Leia Organa Solo surveyed the apartment, taking in everything with the careful eye of a career politician and a trained Jedi. Currently, the apartment was mostly empty save for a few boxes that contained Jacen's meager possessions, but the space still gave off the distinct impression that the middle Solo child had taste.

Han got that impression too.

"Honestly," Leia's husband hissed to her. "What kid just randomly buys an expensive apartment and doesn't tell his parents about it until after the fact?"

"He's twenty-nine, Han." Leia replied in an equally low whisper. "He doesn't need us looking over his shoulder inspecting every purchase he makes."

"But still," Han said, "don't most normal people tell their parents, 'Hey, Mom and Dad, I'm going to buy a house,' before they actually do it? Come to think of it how did he even afford this place? Does the Jedi Order pay him more than it pays you?"

"It might." Leia replied. "He has been a Jedi a lot longer than I have. Plus, we don't know how many credits are still in his savings accounts, maybe he used that."

"Probably." Han said. When they'd first started saving away money in several different banks when Jacen and his twin, Jaina, had been born, it had seemed like another useless thing some security adviser had told them to do, but it had actually came in handy when Coruscant had fallen to the Yuuzhan Vong. It kept them from losing all the credits they'd saved up for their children.

They meditated on this for a moment then Han went on, "I just don't get why he did it. I thought he liked living at the Jedi Temple."

" _Jaina_ likes living at the Temple." Leia said. "You're forgetting that Jacen always was the solitary one of the three. Maybe he got sick of sharing a 'fresher."

"No, you're totally wrong." Han said, voice taking on a slightly teasing air. "More likely he wants to start collecting creatures again." Then he face fell as he realized when he'd just said.

"That's not likely." Leia said, quietly.

"When was the last time that kid brought something small and slightly poisonous home?" Han asked.

Leia didn't need to say anything; they both knew the answer to Han's question. The last time Jacen had played with any kind of animal had been sometime during the early Yuuzhan Vong War, before the Jedi-hunting monsters called voxyn had killed his little brother.

The loss of Jacen's childhood love (obsession almost) was on the list of things that worried Leia about her two surviving children. It was nowhere near as worrying as the knowledge that there had been a time when Jacen would have been perfectly happy living in the Temple simply because Jaina was nearby, but it did cause her to lose sleep. Something had changed in Jacen after Anakin had died. She wasn't sure if it was a direct consequence of that death, or if it was more rooted in his imprisonment by the Yuuzhan Vong or the five years he'd spent wandering the galaxy learning unheard-of Force techniques, but he was definitely different. He wasn't her sweet, sensible, optimistic little boy anymore and that scared her.

The same, she supposed, had happened to Jaina, but at least Leia could blame most of that on the Killik Hive Minds. Jaina's abnormal mental bond with her partner, Zekk, still remained even two years after the Swarm War. It was fading—albeit, slowly—so for the time being, Leia settled for the minor relief that her daughter wasn't referring to herself as "we" anymore.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Jacen stepped out of one of the apartment's bedrooms. He was barefoot and looked happy enough. Whether he was actually happy Leia couldn't tell, because he was withholding his presence from the Force. He'd been doing that for increasingly long stretches recently. As best Leia could figure it had been at least two weeks since the last time she'd felt him in Force, but once he finally opened himself up to the Force again it might be months before he vanished again. The unpredictably of his Force presence was another thing that worried Leia. When Jacen vanished from the Force she never knew if he was simply hiding or if something terrible had happened to him. After feeling Anakin die she was pretty sure she'd know if he died, but she still couldn't tell where he was or if harm had come to him.

Right now, however, was not the time to think about such things. Leia moved quickly across the floor and gave her son a hug. "This is a nice place." She said.

"I'm glad you like it." Jacen said and he sounded glad, Leia wished she could feel that he was glad too, but she didn't mention it.

Jacen hugged Han too.

"Is Jaina coming over?" Leia asked.

"I think so." Jacen said in a tone of voice that vaguely suggested he didn't care one way or another.

Leia barely kept from shaking her head. _Why do I have so many worries about my children? Weren't they supposed to get easier when they grew up?_

"You _think_ so?" Han asked, sounding a little annoyed. Han was no Force Sensitive, he didn't understand—or even really know about—the worries Leia got from Jacen's Force Presence (or lack thereof), but he didn't need the Force to notice the gulf that had sprung up between his twin children. It was hard to miss. In less than a decade, Jacen and Jaina had gone from inseparable best friends who could practically read each other's minds to tense siblings who could go for long periods of time without speaking to each other.

"You could figure out." Han continued. "You wouldn't even have to comm her. We've all seen you do it before."

Jacen's face tensed. "No." He said. "Our twin bond isn't active."

His tone of voice said not to point out the rancor in the room, which was the simple fact that Jaina had no control over the twin bond. Jacen was the one who could turn the bond on and off at will. So if he and Jaina didn't have a bond right now it was because he didn't want them to.

Han, however, if typical Han Solo fashion, pointed the rancor out. "Why don't you want your bond with Jaina?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Jacen said, maybe a little too quickly. "I have no problems with Jaina." He moved over to the one of the boxes and began removing the small trinkets inside.

"They're still burning over what happened with the Chiss and the Killiks." Han muttered into Leia's ear.

"Presumably." Leia said she fought the urge to roll her eyes. "It's only been two years." It was hard to forget that there'd once been a time when Jacen and Jaina couldn't be angry at each other for five minutes.

"He did use her." Han pointed out. "He maneuvered her and the other Joiners into sabotaging the Chiss. An action he knew would cause the Chiss to attack the Killiks in retaliation. He manipulated Jaina by using her trust in him. She can't just ignore that."

"But we are a family and she is his twin." Leia said, deliberately nonchalant, like how manipulative her son had gotten in the last few years wasn't one of her worries. "After two years, forgiveness is probably in order."

"You know I can hear you." Jacen said without looking up from his box.

"Some new Force technique?" Han asked.

Now Jacen did turn around and stand up. "No." He said. "You're just talking loud. Are your ears going or something, Dad? You used to be better that holding silent conversations."

Han heaved a sigh. "Well, since you know what we're talking about anyway; how do you justify using your sister?"

There was a long pause. Jacen's face didn't change, but Leia knew he was deciding how to answer. "I didn't enjoy it, if that's what you're asking." He said at length. "I only maneuvered her into helping because I knew she wouldn't agree to help me if she knew what I was actually trying to do, and I needed her help. It was for the greater good."

"I wish you wouldn't say stuff like that." Leia said.

Jacen raised an eyebrow. "Stuff like what?"

Leia sighed, unable to figure out if his confusion was feigned or real. "Use terms like 'the greater good.' People have used those words to justify truly horrendous things, Jacen; I don't want you to fall into that habit."

Jacen pursed his lips. "If doing things that aren't easy but end up saving lives is wrong, then what do we call Anakin's death?"

Both Leia and Han tensed. A hard lump formed in Leia's throat. If the topic of Anakin's death had any effect on Jacen, he didn't show it.

"Anakin died a hero." Leia finally said. "He died to save his team."

"True." Jacen nodded. "But he also gave his life for the greater good. Who's to say I can't give up my relationship with Jaina for the same thing? What's the difference?"

His quiet, understated logic made Leia's head spin. Jacen's philosophies had always been something of a mystery to her, but they'd gotten even more complex since his time with the Yuuzhan Vong and Vergere—who Leia sometimes thought Jacen counted as more of a mentor than Luke had ever been, even though Vergere been his torturer as well. Trying to understand Jacen's views on anything was like trying to navigate a maze these days.

"That in itself _is_ the difference, Jacen." She finally said. "You never know how far is too far."

"That's because there's no set line, Mom." Jacen said, almost condescending, but not quite. "Everyone has a different standard of what's too far, what cost is too great." His voice dropped to a near-whisper. "How much they'll _sacrifice_."

Something about the way he said "sacrifice" made shivers run down Leia's spine, but before she could say anything else a voice floated in from outside the apartment. It was quiet, but not because the speaker was whispering. The speaker was half-shouting, but the apartment door kept out most of the sound.

"Dad, _please_?" Leia recognized the voice of her eleven-year-old nephew, Ben. "Please?"

"We discussed this already, Ben." The voice of Leia's brother, Luke Skywalker, came next. His voice radiated barely controlled frustration. "The answer is no."

"Mom?" Ben's voice became pleading.

"What makes you think my answer will be different from your father's?" Luke's wife, Mara, answered her son.

Ben's reply was too low to catch.

"What are they going on about?" Han asked, in the tone of voice that said he wasn't expecting an answer.

"Ben wants to live with me." Jacen said.

" _What_?" Leia and Han gasped in the same voice.

"Where did that come from?" Han asked.

Jacen shrugged. "He hasn't wanted to live with Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara for a while; I guess now that he sees an out he wants to take it."

"What do you think of the idea?" Leia asked.

"I wouldn't mind it." Jacen said. "I like having Ben around. Besides, it might make Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara's lives easier. Ben's about as susceptible to their guidance as a ferocrete wall. He's nothing like his father, and I seriously doubt he ever will be."

The doorbell rang, announcing Luke, Mara and Ben's official arrival. Jacen went to open the door and greeted the Skywalkers warmly, doing a perfect job at pretending they hadn't been able to hear them halfway down the hall.

Luke and Mara were dressed in typical brown Jedi Robes; Mara's were just slightly darker. Ben was dressed as a Jedi as well, but the traditional dress didn't look as right on him as they did on his parents. With his red hair and blue eyes, Ben was a blend of both his parents, but in manner he was nothing like either of them. However, in the last months, though, Leia had noticed a change in him, the kind of change that happened when a kid found someone they really admired and tried to be just like them.

That person was Jacen.

Granted, it would have set everyone's minds a little more at rest if Ben were to find a hero in one of his parents, but Jacen was way better than some teenage bruiser Ben could have come across in the underworlds.

It did make logical sense why Ben would be drawn to Jacen. Ben was not a typical Skywalker and probably never would be, unless Luke suddenly found a way to communicate with him. Jacen had never been a typical Solo and he had gotten even more atypical with age. He wasn't even a typical Jedi anymore. It made sense that the two family misfits would be drawn to each other and even after years of war Leia was optimistic enough to hope that they'd be a positive influence on each other.

Ben was holding a strange-looking potted plant in both hands. He thrust it towards Jacen, with a look of disgust. "Here. Mom and Dad said we had to give this to you."

Jacen took the plant from the boy and smiled. "I like it, Ben."

Ben's face lit up. Apparently, the plant was suddenly a lot more cool. "You really like it?"

Jacen nodded. "I do. It's different, but that's part of its charm."

Ben was beaming now. "That's so great!" he looked around the apartment. "Can you show me this place?"

"You can look around by yourself, you know." Jacen pointed out.

"But I want you to show me!" Ben whined.

"Fine." Jacen said. Leia wasn't sure if he really was letting Ben have his way or if he just wanted to avoid having to discuss Ben's suddenly changing opinions on the plant.

As the cousins vanished into one of the apartment's two bedrooms. Luke stepped closer to Han and Leia. "Honestly, sometimes I don't understand that boy at all." His tone of voice implied that by "sometimes" he really meant "never." "Now he wants to live here."

"That's what Jacen said." Han answered. "Are you going to let him?"

"No." Luke almost—but not quite—snapped. "Jacen's his mentor not his father."

Mara gave Luke's arm a gentle punch. "Relax." She said. "The novelty of the idea will get old in a couple days and then we won't have a problem."

Leia glanced at Han, the look on his face said he was thinking the same thing she was. _Not a chance._

Leia was so wrapped up in her thoughts about Jacen, Ben, Luke and Mara that she didn't notice the nervous, deliberately quiet presence at the apartment door until the chime sounded. Han answered it and found Jaina standing outside looking worried.

"Hi, Dad." She said. Zekk was nowhere to be seen. Jaina was alone and she looked like she wasn't enjoying it. Leia was happy to see her daughter making progress. Hive Minds were freaky things and Leia never wanted to encounter them again. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes." Leia moved over to the door and ushered her daughter inside.

Jaina stepped carefully into the apartment and looked around like she expected something to jump out and eat her. "Where's Jacen?" she asked.

As if summoned, the bedroom door opened and Jacen stepped out. As he strode across the floor towards his twin, his presence faded back into the Force. Leia recognized this as a deliberate effort to set Jaina at ease and shot her son a quick smile of thankfulness.

If Jacen noticed her smile, he didn't show it. He was talking quietly with Jaina. Judging by the blankness on both their faces they were just exchanging pleasantries, but it was better than nothing. Ben stood in the doorway to the bedroom looking annoyed that someone had stolen Jacen's undivided attention.

Jaina and Jacen finished their stunted conversation and moved over to the rest of the family. There was a brief pause, then Han plastered a smile on his face. "Well, now that the whole family's here."

No one pointed out that the "whole family" should have included Chewie and Anakin; no one ever did, just like they all tried to avoid talking about Jaina's time as a Joiner, Jacen's imprisonment by the Yuuzhan Vong and Ben's temporary rejection of the Force.

But that didn't mean they didn't think about it. Chewie and Anakin's memories hung heavy in the room, threatening to choke anyone who breathed to deeply. Luke shot a guilty look at Mara. Ben bounced on his heels. Jaina bit her lip. Jacen shifted, eyes darting around worriedly. The smile faded off Han's face.

Desperate to save this get-together from a downward spiral, Leia forced her own smile. "Yes." She said. "The whole family."

* * *

 **Well, that ends this angsty, but not particularly eventful chapter. Don't worry, our scheming OCs will be back in the next one.**

 **The majority of this chapter was written shortly after I finished rereading _Sacrifice_ (the 5th LOTF book). At that point, I was still in a state of shocked horror at the ending (note that I said I was _re_ reading the thing: I knew how it ended). That's the reason the conversation about the greater good and sacrifices is in this chapter, that was on my mind at the time.**

 **What do you think? Please fav/comment/follow!**

 **Emjen**


	4. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

STARSHIP VENGEANCE'S BITE DISPLAYING FALSE TRANSPONDER CODE OLDEN DAYS, HANGER 6, PAHLLY'S SHIPSHAPE DOCKING SERVICE, LEVEL 13-11, CORUSCANT

Ten years ago, Tyo Svea had been a bright-eyed, supposedly normal kid growing up in a farming community in rural Jaemus raring to start his schooling as opposed to spending all his days planting crops. He'd gone to class that first day and enjoyed himself making crafts and learning his alphabet. The next day he'd returned expecting more fun, but what he got was the first inklings of his curse.

His Kindergarten teacher didn't remember him.

It wasn't that she didn't remember his name; she didn't remember him at all. She'd even gone as far as to introduce him to the class. Tyo had told her he'd been in class the day before and she hadn't believed him. She'd asked the other students if they remembered Tyo but none of them had.

The same thing happened the next day, and the next.

It was a week before the teacher remembered Tyo from day to day and that was only because she made the connection between him and one or two of his six older siblings, who she'd had previous years. It was another few weeks before she remembered his first name. Even after that was straightened out there were problems. It wasn't uncommon for her to forget whether she'd listened to him read or if he'd had his chance at an activity.

It wasn't just the teacher, though, the same thing happened to his classmates. Once Tyo and another boy spent recess playing a totally awesome game of _Drive out the Yuuzhan Vong!_ On the way home from school, the boy had come up and started to tell Tyo all about the game they'd played together. After some questioning, Tyo realized the boy remembered playing the game but didn't remember he'd been playing with Tyo.

Tyo couldn't figure it out. Humans were the most common species on Jaemus, so Tyo, being Pantoran, stood out. He would have thought it would make him easier to remember, not harder. Besides, everyone in their small community knew his parents and older siblings by name, but he was always Koe's kid or Jarry's little brother, even the family friends who'd known him all his life had trouble remembering his name.

It didn't make sense, but Tyo's five-year-old self had been determined to figure it out. His quest went on for several years until he realized that even his family wasn't immune to his strange curse. They didn't forget his name but they'd forget when they told him things or they'd forget if he'd been at meal when a really funny joke had been told.

At age eight, Tyo became resided to his fate. There was something wrong with him, something that caused everyone around him to forget about him. He couldn't make friends or really socialize because people always forgot him the instant they left. He would always be alone.

He tried to ignore it. He worked hard on the farm and hard on his schoolwork, people still forgot him.

The years passed, his siblings grew up. Jarry got married. So did Te and Bik. Then Zhay joined the Imperial military, which meant he had to go off world for training. That left just Tyo and Kii on the farm with their parents. But Kii had a boyfriend and there was talk of her marrying as soon as she graduated school, so then it would be just Tyo and his parents.

One night, Tyo went to the bathroom for a drink of water and heard his parents talking downstairs.

"I'm just worried, Koe." His mother was saying. "What's going to happen to him when we get to old to run the farm? He can't ever get a real job; no one will remember giving it to him."

"Jarry and her husband will have to take him in, when they take the farm." his father said. "Or maybe Te and hers or Bik and his wife. Maybe Zhay will be out of the military and be able to take him in."

They never said Tyo's name, but he knew they were talking about him.

"Is that really what his life is going to be like?" his mother asked. "Sent from family member to family member, never having a life of his own?"

"There's nothing more we can do, Yli." His father said. "You said it yourself. He can never have a real job, not with the way he is."

His mother started to cry. "I just don't understand it." She sobbed. "What's wrong with him? Why don't people remember him? Why did this happen to us?"

Tyo had heard enough, he went to the loft room where the children had always slept. Careful not to wake Kii, he packed a few meager possessions and climbed out the loft window. He shimmied along the roof until he reached the place where a straw stack was leaning against the house. There he jumped to the ground, using the straw to break his fall. Then he'd headed for the road and never looked back.

He made it to the capitol several weeks later through a combination of walking and hitchhiking. He never worried about leaving a trail for someone to follow; he knew he would quickly vanish from the minds of anyone he came across.

He didn't know exactly how long he'd spent wandering the capitol before Grichman Rog had found him, but it was enough time that his clothes were ragged and his face was dirty and he looked like just another street orphan. Rog had bought him new clothes and took him out to eat. Tyo had felt kind of bad, knowing Rog would forget him and be wondering where his money had gone tomorrow, but the next day Rog found him again and he remembered everything about their interaction the day before.

This went on for a week or two. They set up a place where they'd meet. Some days Rog didn't come, but most days he did. They'd go out to eat or go for walks or talk. Tyo had never had a real friend before, even an adult friend, so he treasured every minute of it.

Then Rog didn't come for several days. Those days had been torture. Tyo hadn't realized how much he relied on Rog's companionship. He became increasingly convinced he'd go crazy if he had to live without ever seeing Rog again.

Just when Tyo was certain he couldn't take another day alone, Rog had shown up at their meeting spot with bad news. He was leaving Jaemus for Coruscant.

Tyo had wanted to die, but then Rog had offered to take him along. Tyo explained that he had no money, but Rog had said that was fine as long as Tyo did some work for him once they got to Coruscant. Tyo had readily agreed, and hadn't bothered asking what kind of work. As long as he wasn't alone, he didn't care. Plus, he trusted Rog, the man wouldn't ask him to do anything bad.

Rog hadn't mentioned they would be traveling with a bruiser and an assassin but Tyo could get over that. Rog had introduced Tyo to Gorran and Vína when they'd first boarded the ship, but they'd unsurprisingly forgotten him before the jump to hyperspace. Tyo was, quite honestly, shocked Vína hadn't just blasted him when she found him in the crew compartment.

But she hadn't and now they were on Coruscant, a place Tyo had never imagined he'd see.

Granted, level 13-11 wasn't the pretty, touristy Coruscant one saw in holos but it was good enough for Tyo, he sat in the cockpit staring out the viewport, soaking it all in.

Footsteps sounded on the deck. "Come on, Tyo." Rog said. "I need your help carrying some things."

"Coming." Tyo stood up and followed him into the ship's cargo bay.

Gorran and Vína were already there, loading a bunch of heavy metal boxes onto repulsor sleds. Gorran looked up, saw Tyo and did a double take.

"What's that runt doing here?" Gorran shouted. "Stowaway! I'll wring your little neck!"

Tyo slid back, but Rog put himself in the way of Gorran's charge. "Gorran, I'm ashamed of you!" He snarled. "This is Tyo. He's traveling with us! I've had to introduce him to you twice already on this trip! Do you need your head examined?" Tyo couldn't help but shiver, Rog sounded so mean.

Gorran fell back. "No." and he turned back to the boxes.

Rog turned around. "Are you alright, Tyo?" his voice was back to calm and soothing, the Rog Tyo knew.

"I'm fine." Tyo said, quietly.

"Good." Rog clapped him on the shoulders, and then pointed at several fabric duffel bags. "Can you carry those for a couple blocks? We need to take to all this stuff to the hotel we found. Are you strong enough?"

"I'm strong." Tyo said. "My family runs a farm."

Rog's smile got even bigger. "Good man." He said, then gave Tyo another clap on the shoulders and walked off to help Gorran and Vína.

* * *

OUTSIDE FILIX'S INN AND TAVERN, LEVEL 13-11, CORUSCANT

Filix's Inn and Tavern was a run-down, hole-in-the-wall joint; the kind of place that tried to pass off the weird Yuuzhan Vong weeds growing up the walls as exotic. However, it was good enough for the purposes Rog needed it for.

He peaked into the front window. "Male bartender." He said. "Most likely the person you see for rooms too. Vína, you're on."

Vína shot Rog a flirty smile and walked into the tavern.

Rog watched through the window as Vína walked up to the bar and engaged the bartender in conversation. Tyo peaked under Rog's arm.

"What's she doing?" he asked.

"Getting us a room…" Gorran said then paused frowning, probably searching his mind for Tyo's name. "Kid."

Gorran was still having trouble remembering Tyo. Frankly, Rog was shocked Vína had remembered him in the cargo bay. He was pretty sure Vína didn't remember the kid's name any more than Gorran did, but the Twi'lek was remembered the kid himself.

Vína was much smarter than she appeared, Rog would have to remember that.

Vína came out of the tavern five minutes later, dangling a room key from one finger and smiling quietly. "Room 301." She said.

"Just one room?" Rog asked.

"There's only so much I can do with charm." She said. "I got a room by a fire escape and got the bartender to keep us off the inn records, I'd say you should be thanking me."

Tyo blinked. "Huh?" Everyone ignored him.

"Probably." Rog answered Vína. "You did good enough."

Vína rolled her eyes. "Men. Come on, there's an entrance around the back."

* * *

ROOM 301, FILIX'S INN AND TAVERN, LEVEL 13-11, CORUSCANT

The room Vína had gotten had only one bed and a couch. Vína took the couch and made the executive decision Rog and Tyo would share the bed, Tyo because he was "just a kid" and Rog because he was older than the others by several decades. Rog put up a fuss but eventually gave in; though he'd never admit it, he wasn't getting any younger and the couch or the floor would kill his back.

Rog and Vína hid the metal cases while Tyo looked out the window at the rapidly darkening Coruscant and Gorran called in an order to a nearby restaurant.

"What's in these things?" Vína asked as they shoved one of the larger cases under the bed.

"Anything and everything we might need." Rog murmured. "I've been gathering this stuff for years."

Vína pulled the next box closer and looked it over. "They don't have keypads, how do you unlock them?"

"They're programed to my biosigns." Rog said. "I'm the only one who can open them."

Vína rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's helpful. What if you get captured or killed?"

"I'm not going to get captured or killed." Rog said. "And keep your voice down."

"Why?" Vína asked. "Do you think there's a security cam in here?"

"No." Rog said. "I don't want him to know about our mission yet." He jerked his head at Tyo.

Vína frowned at Tyo over the top of the bed, then looked back at Rog. "Why is he here, Rog?"

"I can't tell you everything yet." Rog said he didn't trust Vína enough for that. Plus, the less people knew the truth about Tyo the better. "But I can tell you he's got an ability that will allow us to get close to the Jedi."

"But he doesn't know why we're here." Vína said. "When are you going to tell him?"

"The kid's straight as a rod." Rog said. "He wouldn't dream of stealing something much less committing murder. We need to get him so mixed up in this thing that he can't get out when we tell him the truth."

"When will that be?" Vína asked.

"Probably after our first assassination." He said.

Vína looked over the bed at Tyo again. "Yeah." She said. "That's probably about right."

"Of course it is." Rog said. "Now get back to work."

* * *

JACEN SOLO'S NEW APARTMENT, ROTUNDA ZONE, CORUSCANT

 _Allana was laughing, her red hair flowing in the cool Hapan breeze as she ran through of field of soft grass. In her hands she carried a small red flower. She stopped and turned around, her smile big and playful._

" _Daddy!" she grinned even larger and held out the flower. "Look!"_

 _Somehow, though he had no memory of moving, Jacen reached her side. He took the flower from her. "It's beautiful, Sweetheart."_

 _She beamed up at him._

 _Then a scream floated across the dreamscape. Allana gaped. Jacen leapt to his feet, alert for danger._

And then he was sitting upright in bed in his new apartment.

Jacen gasped, one hand pressed to his chest, and stared blindly around the dark bedroom. His heart was racing and his stomach was twisted with frightened nausea.

Panting, he leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, casting out his Force-senses to feel for the source of the scream. He found nothing. No child anywhere near him was in any danger.

It had been a nightmare.

That offered Jacen some comfort, but didn't completely relieve his worries. Was the scream just a metaphor or was it a taste of the future?

Jacen didn't know. He'd been flow-walking regularly for years now, to the point that he walked a little ways into the future every night just to make sure everything was safe. After so long, he was beginning to notice a change in the way the future spoke to him. It filtered into his dreams more than it ever had before, coloring everything so he was never quite sure if that "weird dream he'd had last night" was just the result of eating heavy Corellian food for dinner or if it was the future.

Right now, he hoped the scream had been a result of the former.

Sitting up straighter, Jacen crossed his legs and took a deep breath. He held it for a minute, then released it and stared at the far corner of his new bedroom. He let his gaze defocus until the room turned into a dark blur then let himself sink into the tides of the future.

Hundreds of possibilities flashed by him lightning speed, almost too fast to comprehend. Some were just images: Tenel Ka's worried eyes, a tumbler like the kind that were used as low-end bars and taverns, Jaina snatching away a lit candle, a tear rolling down a blue cheek. Others were coherent scenes, a deranged woman pacing in a sewer, Luke and Han trying to hold back a murderous-looking Mara, hands wiring something into the electrical systems of an apartment, Leia wringing her hands in worry.

There was so much more than that, far more than Jacen could process, even after years of practice. There was no sound. Jacen could have focused on one future and heard what was happening, but he resisted the urge. The odds of any one thing he saw happening were slim to none, it was best not to be drawn into any of them.

He kept searching, but couldn't find the scream.

That didn't mean there wasn't a screaming child somewhere in future; it just meant that particular event wasn't showing up in his flow-walking. Any number of the things he was seeing could lead to that screaming child, but the Force wasn't willing to show him the actual event.

Not for the first time, Jacen found himself frustrated about how uncertain flow-walking was.

Slowly, he pulled himself back into the real world. Everything had a dull, surreal quality to it, like it normally did when he meditated for long periods of time. He glanced at the chrono by the bed and realized he'd been flow-walking for almost two hours. With a sigh, he stretched and padded quietly into the kitchen area for a glass of water. When he was finished drinking, he leaned against the counter trying to shake himself out of his meditative state. The real world still felt like a dream; he wasn't quite sure he was awake.

Giving up, he headed back to his room and collapsed face-down onto the bed.

He was asleep before he could form another thought.

* * *

 **Don't expect all updates to be this fast. You're getting chapters as I write them for this one, so you're subject to my inspiration (or, in some cases, lack thereof).**

 **The information on how you flow-walk is from _Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Omen_. My personal opinion about Jacen's flow-walking is that, especially in the first couple LOTF books, he's actually addicted to it. Therefore he'll probably be getting a lot of flow-walking time in this book. I'm not sure if anyone ever pinned down exactly what flow-walking to the future is like, but I imagine its a matter of watching everything and looking for patterns. The stuff about the future being in Jacen's dreams more than it used to be was never confirmed, that's just influenced by me thinking that massive use of any Force ability must have some affect on a person.**

 **So please favorite, review and follow!**

 **Emjen**


	5. Chapter 3

**NOTE: In the process of reading and responding to comments I've discovered that I wasn't as clear about the nature of this story as I thought I was. This story is NOT an AU. It's just meant to fill some of the four year time gap between** _ **the Dark Nest**_ **Trilogy and** _ **Legacy of the Force**_ **. It is not meant to replace LOTF.**

 **Hope that clears up any confusion.**

 **Emjen**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3**_

HANGAR BAY, PARTIALLY REBUILT JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

Jaina Solo stood in the hanger bay staring out at the sunrise. Behind her technicians of all kinds bustled around preparing the Jedi's various starships for whatever work they might be doing today.

Jaina leaned back against the jet black frame of her StealthX and closed her eyes. She felt calm and collected, even though Zekk was not anywhere near her. He was still asleep in the upper levels of the Temple; Jaina could feel him in the back of her mind. There was a slight tickling waver to his presence—almost like a grin—that suggested he was dreaming. Jaina thought about probing deeper to see what he was dreaming about but decided it was best to leave it alone.

The cause of her calm had nothing to do with Zekk's absence, which as usual made her slightly nervous. The calm came from the simple fact that she could actually feel her twin brother for once. For the first time in what felt like years but was probably just a month or so, she could feel in her brother in the special "Jacen-place" in the back of her mind. The feeling wasn't as strong as it had once been, but she could tell that he wasn't at the Temple. He was also awake and—judging by the alertness and focus she felt in his presence—had been for hours. She couldn't actually feel his emotions, but she figured if he got into some kind of danger his emotions would become strong enough that she'd be able to feel them and tell he needed her.

That did more for her peace of mind than she'd ever admit.

"Jedi Solo?" a voice asked.

Jaina turned around to see Taq Doewyn, a fresh-faced Kurtzen in his early twenties, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Hi, Taq. Ready?"

"Born ready," Taq said.

A few weeks before Luke had volunteered Jaina to give younger Jedi tutorials on flying the StealthXs. He had said it would be good for her and had somehow convinced everyone to overlook the fact that he'd never actually asked Jaina if she wanted to teach people to fly. This was her first session.

"You get to fly that one," she pointed across to the shiny StealthX right next to hers. "It's brand-new, never been flown before. You have the honor of taking it on its maiden flight."

Taq's smile got so big it threatened to split his face. "Sounds great to me."

Jaina smiled back, though considerably more sedately. "Alright, why don't you climb up and I'll show you the controls."

* * *

SKIES OF CORUSCANT

Just over half an hour later Jaina and Taq took to the skies in their respective StealthXs. Jaina was now grinning from ear-to-ear as well. Taq's enthusiasm was catching, and it was wonderful to hear a young pilot whoop with joy as he got the feel for a new and beautiful ship.

As Taq became more confident over the next few hours, Jaina was able to enjoy some cruising of her own, something she didn't get to do very often these days. It was nice being able to fly her ship when she wasn't in a battle or on her way to a mission. If only her R9 unit, Sneaker, wasn't out of commission for the day having some of his programing updated. The astromech that had been assigned to her as a temporary replacement wasn't a bad droid, but Sneaker was the only thing that could make this more perfect.

"This is amazing!" Taq called over the comm. "Thank you so much, Jaina. These are wonderful ships!"

"The best in the galaxy," Jaina answered, threading in and out of several skyscrapers. People standing on the outside balconies shook their fists at her. She laughed and waved even though they couldn't see her inside the tinted cockpit. She looked over her shoulder to see Taq following, less gracefully, but still cleanly.

"You hungry?" she asked.

"Why?" Taq replied, confusion seeping into his voice.

"You need to practice landing on a non-Jedi hanger," Jaina said. "I found a nice hanger and rented a bay for a couple hours so we can practice. This hanger's a couple blocks from a really nice little restaurant. You want to get some food?"

"Sure," Taq said. "Lead the way."

Jaina banked her ship and streaked off in the direction of the hanger, Taq following in her wake. They reached the hanger within a matter of minutes and after Jaina had commed in her reservation information, they landed in their bay. Jaina landed first then got out to lead Taq into his landing. His was a bit bumpier than Jaina would have liked, but not bad for his first time.

"Well, what do you think?" Jaina asked as they locked down the ships and told the astromechs they could close down for a while. "As good as you thought it would be?"

"It was awesome," Taq said. "The control yoke shakes more than any other ship I've ever been in, but other than that it's great."

"What? It shakes?" Jaina blinked. "That's weird. Mine doesn't do that. Why didn't you tell me about it earlier?"

Taq shrugged. "I thought it was normal. I've never been in one before so I didn't have anything to compare it to."

Jaina sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she stared at Taq's ship. "Well, it is a new ship so there's always the chance something isn't quite right, but its fine for now. I'll look at it before we leave and figure out if there's anything wrong."

Taq nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

"Alright," Jaina turned towards the door of bay. "Come on. Let's get some food. I'm starving."

* * *

FRONT LOBBY OF SAFE DOCK HANGERS, CORUSCANT, SURFACE LEVEL

"Alright, they're leaving the bay." Vína's voice said in Rog's earpiece. "You should see them walking by you in a soon.

"Got it." Rog scanned the crowd for the two Jedi. It was the tall Kurtzen Jedi that caught his attention first. Jaina Solo was walking alongside him, her brown head practically invisible above the heads of the taller beings all around her. Rog smiled, she was deceptively tiny. The lightsaber on her belt was probably the only thing that made people take her seriously.

He pushed the thought out of his mind. Mentally insulting his enemies and their kin had become a form of release for him over the years, but he did not need to indulge in petty insults when he was so close to getting the first portion of his long-awaited revenge. He couldn't believe his luck at this chance. Keeping an eye out for reservations made anywhere by a Skywalker or Solo had really paid off.

He watched Jaina Solo and the Kurtzen leave the building then said into his comm, "they're gone. What bay is it?"

"29," Vína's voice crackled over the comm from the speeder outside where she was monitoring every security cam in the building and controlling every electronic via computer. "They have it rented for two hours."

"That'll be plenty of time." Rog shifted the backpack he was wearing into a more comfortable position and left the holozine stand where he'd been loitering. He walked across the lobby to the place where Gorran and Tyo were slumped on a bench.

Tyo was the more casual looking of the two, because there were enough other bored teenagers in the lobby, but since Tyo would vanish from everyone's minds anyway, he could have been running around screaming and it wouldn't have mattered. Gorran, however was not doing as well, the big Klatooninian was slumped on the bench picking his teeth and looking like he was thinking hard. He was probably trying to remember Tyo's name. Sometime since they'd landed the afternoon before, Tyo had managed to somewhat stick in Gorran's mind. Granted, Gorran couldn't remember Tyo's name or exactly when he'd joined their group, but at least Tyo wasn't being threatened with death every time he came went somewhere for a minute and came back. It was improvement, small improvement, but improvement just the same.

They looked up when Rog came to stand over them. "What's going on?" Tyo asked. "Why are here?"

"We need to meet with someone," Rog said, stepping on Gorran's foot before the bloke said something that would make Tyo suspicious. "It shouldn't take long."

"Okay," Tyo said, so trusting it was almost sickening.

"This way," Rog said and lead them down the hallway to bay 29. Tyo and Gorran followed him until they reached a bench only a few meters from the door to the bay. Rog stopped and turned to Tyo. "You wait here. If anyone comes down the hall I want you to comm me. Got it?"

"Got it," Tyo said. "Why do you need me to keep watch?"

"Just in case," Rog said. "It's hard to have a private conversation on Coruscant. Gorran and I don't want anyone walking in on us while we're meeting with our friends."

To a farm boy like Tyo that seemed like a perfectly logical explanation. He nodded. "You can count on me."

Rog smiled, which was far easier to do than it normally was, with revenge was so close he could taste it. "Good boy," he said and led Gorran up to the door, which Vína unlocked remotely right before they arrived.

"Why is he keeping watch?" Gorran asked as the blast door closed between them and the hallway. "Vína can see everything from where she is."

"He needs to have some undeniable role in this," Rog said. "Plus that bend is in a security camera blank spot, but don't ask so many questions," he sighed as they looked at the StealthXs. "Those are beautiful ships," he toggled his earpiece. "Which one is Jaina Solo's, Vína?"

"The far one," Vína said. "The older one."

Rog strode across the hanger to the farther and more beat-up StealthX. "This one?"

"Yes," Vína said, then laughed. "They even told their astromechs to close down, it's like they're trying to make it easy for you."

Rog laughed too. "That they are," he stepped under the StealthX, pulled off the backpack and unzipped it. Inside the pack were all the tools he would need to cause a little not-so-accidental accident.

He selected a tool and began removing the black durasteel plate that protected the StealthX's fuel cells. Gorran shifted behind him. "Uh…What do you need me to do?"

"Keep watch," Rog didn't look away from his work. "Kill anything that comes in here before I'm done."

"Oh…" Gorran thought about it, then nodded, "okay," and stepped a short distance away.

Rog worked steadily for several minutes, until the plate came loose. He set it aside with minimal noise and peered up into the ship's insides. He smiled as he traced the many wires, circuits and gears, reminding himself of what he needed to do to achieve his desired result.

Revenge was indeed very sweet.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait on this story. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take so long (especially seen as this one ended on a cliffhanger), but I go back to school soon so I can't promise anything.**

 **Technically, there's no point to writing these characters anymore since they've recently been completely overwritten by _The Force Awakens_ , but I still love this timeline, so I see no point in letting it die yet. Plus it helps that Jacen remains my second favorite Star Wars character ever (Anakin Skywalker is number one, Captain Rex is number three). Also, anyone else notice the _Legacy of the Force_ references in _The Force Awakens_? (**cough**Kylo Ren**cough**)**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Next Chapter: Jacen is given reason to be glad he's allowing his twin-bond with Jaina to exist for the time being.**

 **Emjen**


	6. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

DOCKING BAY 29, SAFE DOCK HANGERS, SURFACE LEVEL, CORUSCANT

"Tell me again what you felt." Jaina asked, frowning into the exposed insides of Taq's StealthX. Lunch was over, and that meant they were back in the hanger bay trying to figure out why the steering yoke of the new fighter was shaking.

Taq shrugged. "It was just vibrating. It didn't get worse or anything. It wasn't even really hard to handle. It just vibrated," he shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing, Jaina."

Jaina sighed and climbed up into the cockpit of the StealthX. She looked over the controls, and then turned it on. It started normally, humming softly beneath her. She scrolled through several screens of diagnostics but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"It does look fine," she said. "It's probably just a slight miscalibration of the steering," she said to Taq. "But just to be safe, why don't you fly my fighter back to the Temple? Mine's perfectly calibrated, so you won't have this problem."

"You're sure?" Taq asked. "I flew it on the way here. I can manage it back."

"There's always the possibility that flying the ship will make it worse," Jaina said. "This is just to be safe."

"Alright," Taq smiled and climbed into Jaina's StealthX. "You do realize that I'll have to move your seat back, right?"

"And I'll have to move yours forward," Jaina snorted. "It's not a problem, Taq."

Jaina watched as Taq climbed into her StealthX and started it up. She felt a strange shimmer of danger in the Force, but it was gone before she could pinpoint it. She searched the hanger with her powers. There was a whisper of slippery deceit and an odd scene of justice, but nothing that seemed to scream immediate danger.

"You ready, Jaina?" Taq asked.

"Yeah," she said. "You take off first, I want to watch you."

She watched as Taq lifted off the ground with a little less grace than she would have wanted. However, there would be time to fix that later. When he was clear, she lifted off as well. As soon as she left the ground she could feel the shaking Taq had been talking about. She recognized the feeling immediately. It was just something in the steering that needed to be tuned a little more. To an amateur the shaking probably felt pretty bad, but Jaina had flown a lot of ships in her day and had felt far worse shaking. The ship would be fine for the duration of the flight home. They didn't have to rush. However, she was careful about how she passed that knowledge onto Taq. She didn't want him to think he was a bad pilot or a cowardly one. She wanted to keep his confidence up.

They took a long route back to the Temple, one that involved several complicated turns for Taq to practice on. They were a couple klicks from the Temple when Taq cleared his throat nervously. "Uh…Jaina…Didn't you say this ship's steering wasn't going to shake?"

"What?" Jaina blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"The steering's shaking," Taq said. "Just like the other ship."

"That's impossible," Jaina breathed. "The steering's perfectly calibrated."

"I'm sorry, Jaina," Taq sounded crestfallen. "Maybe I'm doing something wrong, or I'm a just a bad luck charm."

"No," Jaina said. "There must be a perfectly logical explanation for what's happening. Let's just get back to the Temple."

They hadn't even flown five more minutes before Taq's turns became noticeably sluggish.

"You're doing fine, Taq," Jaina said, thinking that he must have been losing confidence. "Don't stress about it."

"That's not it," Taq sounded tense. "The shaking's getting worse and its getting really hard to steer."

That didn't sound like a calibration problem, Jaina felt the first twinge of real worry. "It'll be fine," she said instead of voicing her concerns. "Just keep flying. We're almost there."

They'd only gone a little farther when Jaina felt a flare of alarm from Taq. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I-I-I…there's a warning," Taq stammered. "It says there's some kind of electrical failure, and something with the fuel cells."

 _What?_ That was impossible, Jaina and Zekk had been tuning that ship yesterday before she'd gone to see Jacen's apartment. The ship had been in tiptop shape. There was no way they'd overlooked a loose connection or a bad fuel cell.

"How bad is it?" She asked trying to sound calm.

"It says I should land immediately," Taq sounded terrified.

Jaina swore aloud before she remembered the connection with Taq was still open. "Sorry," she apologized cursing herself for letting him hear how bad the situation was. "If it says to land, then you need to land."

"Where?" there was a distinct note of panic in Taq's voice.

"Anywhere," Jaina said, "it doesn't matter. You just need to land right now!"

"But where, Jaina?"

Jaina forced herself to take a deep breath. Taq needed her to be calm. She scanned the buildings below them for one that would make a good emergency landing platform. "See that factory up ahead?" she asked.

"Yeah," Taq was practically squeaking.

"We're going to land there," Jaina said. "The roof is wide and flat. It'll be just like landing on an open-air platform."

"Okay…" Taq sounded far from convinced.

"You can do this, Taq," Jaina coaxed. "I believe in you."

They angled down towards the factory. It was one of the tallest buildings of the area, giving them plenty of room to loop around if they needed to. It looked like the roof was covered in gravel which would complicate things, but not much.

Jaina looked over at Taq and saw to her horror that the StealthX had started to trail smoke. Her heart leapt. "Taq, what's going on?" she snapped into her comm.

"The steering's practically gone," Taq sounded completely panicked now. "How am I supposed to land if I can't steer?"

"Slow down," Jaina ordered. "We're going to make this work."

Taq slowed, but the StealthX was still traveling at too high an altitude to even attempt a landing on the fast approaching factory. More smoke poured from the back and underside of the ship.

"Jaina, there's no steering!" Taq nearly wailed. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Don't panic," Jaina said despite the panic rising in her own chest.

Taq overshot the factory. He was going slowly now, but he couldn't turn. Jaina tried to figure out if it would be easier to pick another rooftop and guide him through a controlled crash. "Taq-"

She never had the chance to finish. A sense of danger roared through the Force. Jaina watched in horror as the StealthX's engines choked, fading to black for an instant then turning back on.

Then the ship was engulfed in a raging fireball.

Jaina felt Taq's last moments of utter terror before he vanished into the Force with a shudder Jaina knew all too well.

"Taq!" she screamed.

* * *

MEDITATION CHAMBER, JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

The first thing Luke heard when he entered the Meditation Chamber was the sound of his son complaining.

"I'm bored, Jacen. Can't we do something else?"

Luke spotted his son and nephew seated facing each other on meditation cushions on the far side of the cavernous room. Ben was fidgeting, playing with his hair and robes. Jacen was sitting so still he could be mistaken for a statue.

"Please, Jacen?" Ben begged.

Luke watched as his nephew sighed. "Ben, you need to learn to meditate properly. It's important. Plus, you're disrupting everyone else in this room." Luke recognized the tone of voice; Jacen was frustrated.

Mara, who stood at Luke's side, snorted. "Our son is able to annoy the man who can meditate through just about anything," she whispered, trying not to disturb the other Jedi who were in the chamber, "I'm not sure if I should be impressed or not."

Luke smiled and made his way across the chamber. Ben opened his eyes as soon as he felt them coming and bounced off his cushion. "Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! How are you?"

"Aren't you supposed to be meditating?" Luke asked, giving the boy a pointed look.

Ben's shoulders fell. "But it's boring!" he whined.

"It wouldn't be if you were to make a concerted effort to do it," Jacen said without opening his eyes.

"Can we do something else now, Jacen?" Ben turned back to his cousin. "We've been meditating for hours!"

"We've been meditating for twenty minutes," Jacen's tone was near snappish.

Luke had to smother a smile. Mara was right about there being something just a little impressive about seeing how well Ben could get under Jacen's skin.

Jacen heaved another sigh, then opened his eyes. "Fine. I can't focus with you this restless anyway, and you're not doing anyone else here any favors." He stood up and rolled his shoulders, probably more out of habit than to combat any actual stiffness.

Luke, Mara, Jacen and Ben walked out of the meditation chambers to looks of relief from the other Jedi in the room and started down one of the hallways. "Did you want to see us about something?" Jacen asked.

"Actually I was looking for Ben," Luke said.

"Why?" Ben asked.

"Master Cilghal told me that all those medications you sorted for her yesterday weren't really sorted at all," Luke said giving his son a stern look. "Did you actually sort them or did you just put them on the shelves?"

"It was boring!" Ben argued. "Besides they're all marked anyway!"

"You seem to be using that excuse a lot," Luke said. "Does everything you do have to be interesting?"

Ben glared up at him. "It should be."

Luke sighed. Why was Ben so stubborn? "Report to Cilghal at once. I want those medications sorted correctly this time. Then you will spend the day helping her with anything else she might need."

Ben's jaw dropped. "But Jacen and I were going to-"

"I don't care what you and Jacen were going to do," Luke said. "This is your punishment. Next time do the job right the first time."

There was a ringing silence as Luke and Ben glared at each other. Then Ben dropped his head. "Yes, sir."

"Good," Luke said. "You'd better get started then,"

Ben glowered at the floor and stalked off muttering under his breath. Luke shook his head and was just about to walk on when Mara asked, "Jacen, are you okay?"

Luke turned around. Jacen had gone chalk white. He was staring at the floor somewhere between Luke and Mara's feet like he was trying to set it on fire with his eyes. Concern welling up inside him, Luke reached for his nephew's shoulder. "Jacen?"

Suddenly Jacen shook himself and stepped away from Luke's hand. His eyes focused again, first on Luke then on Mara. He looked worried, bordering on terrified. "Jaina," he breathed.

Then he turned on his heal and ran down the hall in the direction of the transport pool, leaving Luke and Mara standing in his wake.

* * *

 **Well, I'm back. Summer is here!**

 **I'll try to update this story more frequently. It's going to be getting more interesting soon. I also have plans for a lot of other things that I hope to be able to show to you all soon!**

 **Please vote and comment!**

 **Emjen**


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